> F1NEWS> Theissen: We might not be able to save the team ... Force India not for sale FORCE India owner Doctor Vijay Mallya has told GPWeek that his team is not for sale, after rumours that Prodrive boss David Richards was close to buying the F1 team surfaced over the weekend of the European Grand Prix. Force India’s close relationship with McLaren and supply of Mercedes engines had been mooted as Prodrive’s major reason for interest in the team, as it is widely believed that Richards’ bid for a slot on the 2010 F1 grid was only Images used in GPWEEK are shot by the photo-artists at Sutton Images. Posters available of any shot – CLICK HERE for more information turned down by the FIA because of his reluctance to switch allegiance from Mercedes to Cosworth power. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it,” Mallya said when quizzed on the subject by GPWeek. “As far as I am concerned nothing has changed. I don’t know where all this speculation comes from. I haven’t been approached and I have no intention in selling out,” he confirmed. So that’s that one put to bed then. MARIO Thiessen has admitted that while he and Peter Sauber are working to try and secure the future of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, there are no guarantees that the FIA will accept its entry for the 2010 championship. With the FIA having reopened the tendering process for the 13th F1 team, Thiessen revealed in Valencia that the current BMW-Sauber team had put in an entry for 2010 alongside the other 12 teams, but that the decision of whether they are accepted lies equally in whether they can find an agreement with the BMW board to purchase the team, and whether the FIA decides to pick their team over the other proposed new entrants. “We have signed up for next year,” he told journalists at the European Grand Prix. “There was an agreement between all the teams and the FIA that after the signature of the Concorde Agreement, there would be a new entry form and all the entries would be renewed. “We are now waiting for the decision. We have applied and it is for the FIA now to decide if we are accepted.” Thiessen admitted that he and Sauber were working hard on a deal to save the team. “Well fortunately I’m not working on my own, I am doing it together with Peter. He is trying very hard to use his connections and he is talking to people. We are doing it jointly. “There are several interested parties, and we are just about to evaluate the individual proposals.” Interested in Aussie V8 Supercars? CLICK HERE to access Australasian Motorsport eNews ... 9